Women and the Book of Judges Essay

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Women in the Book Of Judges

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The Book of Judges talks about ancient Israel, and how they extended their territory by acquiring lands from the non-Israelites. The book narrates how Israelites conquered and reclaimed their lost land from non-Israelites and how they used to turn from God whenever they are satisfied. But it is written in the Bible that, the guilty are by no means cleared, as Exodus (34:7) says this is the reason why the Lord used several Kings and Judges like Deborah to help the people of Israel find their way back to Him. As the book reveals, it is evident that most of the judges were men (as they were most of the times referred to as Judges). The book talks about a great woman Deborah, also referred to as the "bee," as a key judge in the entire book. This book unveils the importance of women (through acts and strengths of Deborah (mainly) and other heroic female characters) and their power to the readers.

The Book of Judges narrates six women who are and will always be remembered by their outstanding and remarkable work. They are, Achsah, Deborah, Jael, Japhthah's daughter, Delilah and the identity of two of them is not revealed. O'Connor (1980) suggests that, "The book of Judges" demonstrates this disparity as observed; women assume a vital function in its set-up as the volume's subject is "marginalization" (278). Women are well-known in three major roles, that is, being a mother, a daughter or a mate. Despite these limited roles, the Book of Judges shows that women are powerful and nothing can stop them as long as they believe in themselves. The book portrays the challenge and problems women face when they choose to use that power.

As the book describes, all women should be brave like Deborah, who was also a prophetess, a wife of Lappidoth and additionally an Israelite's judge (Henry IV 1). The people of Israel used to come to her for judgments when she used to sit between Ramah and Bethel on the hill of Ephraim (Judges 4: 1-5 and 5:1-11). Apart from being a great judge and a prophet, Deborah was also a military leader. She summoned a man named Barak who was a commander and went ahead to lead him and his soldiers in war against Israel's enemies. She also chose to exercise her power of delivering justice selflessly as against the prevalent egoist and selfish motives of the tribal chiefs.

As Daniel J. Elazar states in the book, "The Israelite Tribal Federation and Its Discontents," Judges present the "tribal federation" within its state -- what occurs in case the federation turns out to be, in fact, a loosely-joined union where everyone acts as per his individual will. The book portrays this during the reign of other judges who were greedier for power and least bothered to help people. However, Deborah is the only powerful judge who can resolve issues and make decisions in the best interests of the people (Judges 4:4). For instance, Deborah had the power of settling grievances among the people of Israel and correcting any form of abuse. This power was derived from her spiritual devotion to God (Henry, IV 1). Furthermore, Deborah shows how modern women should be. Deborah exemplifies why women should not allow oppression to take over their lives, but instead lead from the front like leaders.

Women can posses any kind of skill and power, even military and battleground strategy and execution, as long as they believe in themselves and Jael, another character from the book, proves this to be true. Jael was the wife of the Kenite and killed the commander of the King Jabin's army using a peg and a mallet. She did it by luring the commander into her tent and subsequently killed him; thus saving the Israelites from the Canaanite threat. Despite the political hardship in Israel and the fact that women were considered inconsequential, she managed to kill the greatest enemy of Israel.

Another way women are portrayed as powerful beings in this novel is by displaying their courage and bravery. A good example is how Barak responded to Deborah in 8. "If you go with me, I will go, but if you will not go, I will not go." This clearly proves that men sometimes need strong women to stand by them in order to do something perfectly (Chapter 4-8). Another form of power that women exhibited in this novel is that of control (Murphy 1). This use of control is well depicted by Delilah.

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Although Samson was a great warrior who fought and won many battles, he had no proper experience of using his wisdom when dealing with a woman. He was seduced by Delilah who revealed to him his power of strength. Samson's powers were robbed from him and he was taken to prison by the philistine. This shows that women can use the power of control in the society to acquire leadership position or settle battle issues between warring communities (Judges 4:22). In line with the book of judges, these examples demonstrate that women can be the better half of men. Additionally, these features make women look more distinct and stronger than the male counterpart in specific, critical times.

The first trait portrayed by women in this book is that they are not afraid to take risks (Murphy 1). Deborah proved this when she agreed to accompany Barak to the battlefield to fight the Canaanites. It is rare for a man to take such a risk especially if it concerns a female life. Women like Deborah have the ability to take risks to save other people's lives and concurrently hold steadfast to their beliefs as proved by Deborah when she tells Barak that the Lord is leading him and He has given him victory over Sisera (Judges 4:1-5 and 5:1-11). Thus, by taking risks and manifesting their beliefs, women displayed capacity to take on roles assigned only to men traditionally.

In addition, another powerful skill or attribute displayed by women in the Book of Judges is the ability to concurrently perform multiple tasks and roles; a skill lacked by several men. Women can do assume several roles and functions at the same time without failing in any of them (Murphy 1). This is proved by Deborah who acted as a Judge, prophetess and a poet concurrently. Deborah served as a Judge for the Israelites and people would go to her to make decisions based on fairness. She also assumed the role of God's messenger when she told Barak that the Lord had given him command to lead the soldiers of Israel to battle with the soldiers of King Jabin of Canaanite. Thus, the women, through spiritual strength and faith in their ability, carried out formidable acts in the interest of the people of the land.

In addition, women were shown to be resilient and show perseverance in what they do. They were shown as strong, resistant and motivated to act and no matter how long it took, they did not give up (Murphy 1). The most passionate female character, Delilah, the woman from Timmah, demonstrated this attribute. She tried to seduce Samson on four different occasions and told him how she can rip out his powers and eventually did so. Had it been a man, he would definitely have given up like Barak who was afraid to go to a battlefield alone. Whereas, through internal resolution the women, in this book, chose to do the unthinkable, and eventually succeeded.

Women were also shown to possess the art of manipulation and, on occasions, they demonstrated a sly and cunning behavior, cajoling men with their charm (Murphy 1). This is amply illustrated when Jael welcomed Sisera, the commander of King Jabin soldiers, to her tent. She lured him with food and drinks then waited for him to fall asleep and killed him by using a hammer and a tent peg. The victim, in this case, was a commander of soldiers, who was well trained, but Jael trickery worked on him.

In the end, one can safely conclude, women manifested power in this novel by performing multiple roles and functions in the Israeli society including not just the traditional roles of a mother, daughter and wife but also unorthodox roles, like a spiritual leader or prophetess, military leader and fighter, judge. They exhibited attributes like fairness, courage, resilience, emotional intelligence; all of which play a key role in the making of a leader. The limitations imposed by society on women, including social status or domesticity, have little to no influence on these female characters. In fact, on the contrary, women in this novel have assumed roles and functions that push away the traditional roles to a point where even the modern and contemporary women would feel proud to manifest them.

Reference

Elazar, Daniel J. "The Isralite Tribal Federation and Its Discontents."Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. 16 October 2015. < http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles/judges.htm

Keathley, H. IV.….....

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